With all the recent police-related deaths, people have taken to social media to voice their opinions on the matter.
On one side, people put the officer at fault. Saying that counties should do a better job with de-escalation and conflict management training rather than a one size fits all "shoot to kill" policy. On the other side, people put the victims at fault. Asserting the fact that the police officer in question wouldn't have to shoot and kill if the people we're compliant with what the officer was saying, and not presenting themselves in a non-threatening manner.
While both sides present valid arguments that have to be applied on a case by case basis, the recent shooting of South Florida man Charles Kinsey is interesting for many reasons.
On Monday, July, 18, North Miami police got a call concerning a possibly suicidal man with a gun. Upon arrival to the scene, police found Charles Kinsey, a behavior therapist who works with people with disabilities, along with a runaway member of the nearby group home where Kinsey works. The police ordered Kinsey and the patient, who was sitting in the street with a toy truck, to lie on the ground with their hands up.
A video from the scene shows Kinsey complying with the officer whilst trying to get his patient to do so as well. As this was going on, Kinsey tried to explain to the officer that the man was not suicidal with a gun, but rather an autistic man with a toy truck. Since the man in question is non-verbal and low-functioning, Kinsey was primarily worried about his safety rather than his own. Although he was fully compliant, the officer later identified as Jonathan Aledda, fired three shots and hit Kinsey at least once. Afterward, police handcuffed Kinsey but was left bleeding on the pavement for about 20 minutes.
After the video of Kinsey went viral Wednesday night, it came out that the officer was trying to shoot at the autistic man, as he believed that Kinsey's life was in danger, and missed. Which doesn't really makes sense when you recall the fact that Kinsey was handcuffed following the shots that were fired.
In an interview following the incident, Kinsey recalls that when he asked the officer why he was shot, the officer replied by saying "I don't know."
As of Friday, July, 22, the officer has been placed on administrative leave and a third-party investigation of the incident.
Despite the obvious fault of Officer Aledda, North Miami Police is standing by his actions. John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade County Police Benevolent Associated, was quoted saying, "Sometimes police officers make mistakes, they are not computers. They are not robots. They are God's creation."
So, what now? Time and time again, following a police shooting like this people are very quick to place blame on the victim and what they could've done. But in this situation, Kinsey was fully compliant with the police and did everything they said. Yet, he was still shot.
It's also very interesting to point out the fairly small amount of media coverage this particular story received. The stories about Alton Sterling and Philando Castile went viral almost as soon as it happened, while this one took a few days before it surfaced the internet. There is always a certain spin that is put onto incidences like this. Usually by now, an article along the lines of "[City] Shooting Victim, [First Name, Last Name], Was No Angel" surfaces with a laundry list of charges demonizing the person in question along with a mugshot from a decade or so ago. But how will they demonize Kinsey? He was a college-educated, father of five, with no criminal background, and worked as a behavior therapist.
The reports following the shooting are extremely conflicting and there is a very big hole left in this story. If police were responding to a possibly suicidal man, why were guns drawn? Not once did the autistic man charge toward the officer or become a threat, why were guns drawn? How does a trained law enforcement officer confused a toy truck for a gun? Because this is one of the rare cases where there is video evidence, multiple witnesses, and most importantly an alive victim, it's interesting to see where this case will head as North Miami goes through their investigation.
